Container feed and control mechanism



Feb. 14, 1950 B. c. cooNs 2,497,586

CONTAINER FEED AND CONTROL MECHANISM Original Filed July 24, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 aro/v c'. cao/vs Feb. 14, 1950 B. c. cooNs 2,497,586

CONTAINER FEED AND CONTROL MECHANISM Original Filed July 24,-1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 14, 1950 B. c. cooNs 2,497,586

y CONTAINER FEED AND CONTROL MECHANISM Original Filed July 24, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 B. c. cooNs 2,497,586

CONTAINER FEED AND CONTROL. MECHANISM Feb. 14, 1950 Original Filed July 24, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIB Ei 5 6 l S6 G /os l G Y l /07 /O 7 n /o /03 -94 /02 *v *Y* 74 Je @ava-@wk A A A ,Ay /A INVENTOR 83 Buero/v c. coo/v5 4 BYGMQW ATTORNEY atentecl Fel). 14, 1950 CONTANER FEED ildp CONTROL MECHANISM Eu'rton C. Coons, Son Jose, Ciilif.5 assigner to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, a cofporation of Dela'vllie Original application July 24, 1942, Sei-*iai Noi.` 452,194, now raient No. 2,398,922, dated April 23, 1946,' Divided lld this ffpliltih AgSf 2, 1944,' Siil N.- 547,791

,e claims. (Cl. lss- 19) This invention relates to container feeding mechanism and more particularly to e, device lor Controlling' the movement 'of ycl'llltaline'rs` rela-tive to 4ciililtaliner ll'ing' mechanism.

This application 'is division of rny depending application Serial Number 452,194, `filed. July 24, 1942, and granted April 23, 1946, as P'alterltllo. 2,398,922, for Method and apparatus for' feeding fruits and vegetables.

The container feed mechanism of the present .invention is shown 'associated with an article feeding apparatus of the type which intermittently vfeeds charges consisting of predetermined quantities of artlclesforreception by the coritalrlers. Thejarticle feeding' 'apparatus' shown is more' particularly described and claimed in iny above nientioned copending application and so far as the present invention is 'concerned serves merely to illustrate a forni of feeding apparatus with which the present invention is especially adapted to be associated.

For convenience,l the 'invention will 'be described with respect to an embodiment for feeding halved marascliino cherries to containers which have already received `al 'iiroiier proportion of fruitcocktaili'nlc l In the canning of fruit cocktail end niixed fruits, particular attention must be given to the number or count of fruit pieces added per container. This is especially true when there is a scarcity ofthe fruit or the fruit is costly or has a special decorative value in serving, as in the case of 4inaraschlnocherries. Short count brings complaints from the vtrade and over counting means a -loss to thepcker. It is also oftentimes desired to accurately proportion the `contents of a container with vdifferent fruits or it may he essential to add a specific number of nieces `'of a certain fruit for' llaivorlng or coloring. -V

In the foregoing circumstances, the practice vheretofore has been to feedtl'ie fruit by irland, using e, line of operators, eaclioperator being expected to deposit fruit pieces in each container es it went by. By this practice it was thought that no container would be entirely missed andth'at the opportunity for'error would be materielll'y reduced. q

When it is considered that vit is desired to sinoerrors readily ocollr-anddnreovel, the amount 4of floor space-required toaceoniplish the saine resuit or hand will increase the cost of vcanning.-

' sition; Fig. 5 a new groupy of `containers entering charge. receiving position; and Fig, 6 containers object of the present invention to provide a 4mech- Isinistri for positioning containers for reception of articles in timed relation' with .the discharge of the articles by' thefeeding mechanism.

Another object of this invention is to provide mechanism for .feeding containers in a manner whereby one or lmore containers may be held at a delivery station d sufficient length of time to receive a predetermined quantity of articles.

Another object of the invention .is to provide linen apparatus in which containers-are continuously fed past a delivery station,a mechanism .for controlling the'` movement of the containers to position one or more' containers for the reception of articles incl-dent to the 'discharge of articles .at

vsuch delivery stationi VStill another object of this invention is to provide in' an apparatus for periodically directingla Ycharge of articles to a point of use or delivery, 'a

controlled container feed mechanism in which constant flvv of continers toward such point cf use or delivery is momentarily retarded for rthe reception of charges of articles and in which subsequent containers, about to i'iiove into charge revceiving position', are restrained against movement vincidentt-o the vrelease of the containers which havealready received a charge of articles.

Other objects and yadvelllta'ges of the present yinvention reside in the novel combination of elements and arrangeiileilto f Darts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed in the light ofthe drawings, inwl'lichf Fig. 1 issn elevational view oi the delivery end of the article ffeeding apparatus showing containers in position ,for receiving' la charge of -irticles.

Fig, 2 is a side elevational v'ievv as seen from line 2 2 in Fie. l.`

yFig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 33 in Fig. 1; and

' Figs.- 4,'5 and 6 are schematic views .of the oon- -tainer feed 'andstop mechanism; Fig. 4 showing the iilled containersleaving charge receiving poin charge receiving position. l

f Generally :the larticle feeding :apparatus .in-

` clad-es fa bin ,A for supporting a supply of articles,

an article discharging mechanism B for conveying articles in charges of predetermined quantities to a point of discharge, a series of article directing means C for receiving the charges from the discharge mechanism, and a drive mechanism D for operating the discharge mechanism.

The container feed mechanism includes a container guide channel El for guiding containers in a path beneath the article directing means C, a continuously moving means F in the channel for moving containers along the latter, container engaging means G for momentarily retarding and releasing containers incident to the discharge of articles into and from the article directing means, and a control mechanism H coordinated with the drive mechanism Dvfor operating the container engaging means G in synchronism with the intermittent discharge of articles by the article discharging mechanism.

More particularly the specific form of feeding mechanism shown is concerned with feeding an accurate and predetermined count of small fruit although it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that any form of feeding mechanism for dispensing articles in charges of predetermined quantities may well be employed in conljunction with the present invention.

The apparatus includes a base plate I to the opposite ends of which are secured vertical posts 2. These posts extend the full height of the apparatus and serve as supporting members or masts between which to carry the operating mechanism. The upper ends of the posts are connected by a tie member 3 which is held in place by bolts 4 and forms a rigid supporting frame with the base and posts.

As seen in Fig. 3 the bin A is arranged in a tank 5 which holds a body of liquid 6, the tank being suitably supported by brackets 1 secured to the posts 2 for supporting the tank above the base. The liquid 6 also flows into the bin A through ports or openings 8 formed in the submersed walls of the bin A. At the start of operations the hopper A is filled to a desired level; with a promiscuous mass of cherry pieces in the liquid, sufficient liquid being present to cover the cherry mass and to preferably separate the vindividual pieces and render them buoyant.

' The article discharging mechanism B includes a series of article displacement tubes 5 slidably mounted for vertical movement in suitable bearing bushings Ii) formed in parallel rows in the bottom of the bin A. At the upper ends of the tubes there are perforated seats l for the cherry pieces. The tubes 9 are held at their lower ends by a carrying plate |2 which ties all the tubes into a single acting member.

The carrying plate I2 is supported on lift brackets |3 which are secured to the lower ends of vertical lift rods I4 (Fig. 3). These rods are located on the transverse center line of the group of tubes and between the respective adjacent side walls of the tank and hopper. The rods |4 are supported for slidable movement in brackets I5 secured to the vertical posts 2 by set screws I6.

Also slidably mounted in the brackets I5 are cam rods I1 each having its upper end connected with the upper end of the respective and adjacent lift rod I4 by a block IB. The lower ends of the cam rods I1 are connected to slotted guide bars |9 the slot formations 20 of which fit over a horizontal drive shaft 2| for guidance thereby (see Fig. 2). The drive shaft 2| is rotatablyjournaled in right andleft bearing blocks 22 securedto theposts 2 and is further journaled secured to the posts 2 (see Figs. 1 and 2).

l in a central pillow block 23 supported on the base I.

The guide bars I9 carry rollers 24 which extend into a Icam race 25 formed in lift cams 26 fixed tothe shaft 2|. Each cam rod I1 has a compression spring 21 arranged thereon and bottomed on the tank supporting bracket 1, the upper ends of the springs bearing against collars 28 fixed to the camrods I-1 whereby to counterbalance the load of the tubes and carrying plates on the lift cams 2 6. The lift cams are driven by the drive shaft 2| which forms a part of the drive mechanism D which includes an electric motor 29 having a built-in reduction gear and a drive pinion 30 (Fig. 1) which meshes with a gear 3| fixed to the drive shaft 2|.

Upon rotation of the drive shaft 2| the carrying plate I2 will be raised and lowered in the tank 5 to lift cherry halves from the liquid 6 to a point of impalement, the tubes 9 being associated with piston members 32 xed to and extending upwardly from the bottom of the tank 5 whereby to create agitation of the fruit pieces on descent of the tubes and to create a suction upon elevation of the tubes so as to attract and hold vfruit pieces on the seat II of the tubes as the pieces are raised out of the liquid.

The article` discharging mechanism B further includes a pick-up and stripping unit 33 comprising an overhead crane 34 supported at its two ends on brackets 35 in turn supported at the upper ends of the posts 2. Each bracket 35 has a pair of horizontally aligned bosses in each of which is arranged a slide bar 36 on which is suspended a U-shaped bracket31. Extending across the bin A and supported by the spaced brackets 31 are a number of spaced racks 38 one above each row of tubes 9. Pick-up elements 39 in the form of weighted pins having barbed lower ends are slidably supported in guide tubes 4D depending from the racks 38, there being one such pin above each tube 9 so as to impale the fruit by impact from the elevating tubes.

All of the pick-up pins are simultaneously moved from their fruit impaling position to a discharge station whence the fruit pieces are directed by the article directing means C to a place of use or delivery. This movement is accomplished by rocker arms 4| having U-shaped hubs 42 at their centers pivotally vmounted on stud shafts 43 fixed in bearingbrackets 44 in turn secured by bolts 45 to brackets 46 adjustably The lower ends of the rocker arms 4| carry rollers 41 which extend into race ways 48 formed in crane operating cams 49 located at each side of the machine and secured to the drive shaft 2| for rotation therewith.

The upper ends of the rocker arms 4| are formed to provide yokes 50 straddling rollers 5| mounted on studs 52 extending laterally from and carried by stud brackets 53 secured to the outer sides of the U-shaped brackets 31 forming the end supports for .the pin carrying racks 38.

Rotation of the drive shaft 2| to lower the tubes 9 will cause movement of the rocker arms 4| clockwise (Fig. 2) to move the racks and pins with the fruit pieces impaled thereon to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and incidental to such movement each fruit piece will be stripped from the barb of the pin upon which it is impaled and will drop into the article directing means C.

The means for stripping the fruit pieces from the barbed pinsas aforesaid includes a stripper bar-54 complementary to each pin supporting rack si! and Ahav-ing a plurality of openings A55 `"to fi-t the stripper bars over the pins "in 'the respeotive row of pins on the complementary rack. Each stripper bar has a boss formation 56 at its ends mounted for vertical sliding movement on a stud pin 51- depending from the lower face of the L1-shaped brackets 31, there being headed A'lc'vver -ends on the stud 'pins to limit downward movement of the bosses and stripper bars.

v Each boss '5S carries a roller 58 which rides upon fixed cam tracks' 59 arranged on the sides of 'the machine 'and supported at l'one 'end by bolting as at Gil to L-shaped brackets "6l in turn supported by the tank supporting bracket 'l on 4either side of the machine. lThe L-shaped brack- 'lets v6l are joined at theirupper ends by a tie bar-62 to form a stripper cam supporting fraine which in turn supports the rarticle directing 1The cani tracks Se have a horizontal lportion 8'3 'which supports the rollers and stripper 'bars in an elevated or ineffective position when the racks and vpins are in fruit impaling position above 'the 'tubes `.9 and a downwardly sloping portion s4 which allows the respective stripper bars to 'descend as the crane is rnoved toward fruit disc'l'i'ar'ging position whereby the separate rows oi fruit pieces are stripped fro'rn their respective pins as they pass over 'the article directing means C.

The 'ar-ticle directing means C comprises hop- 'pers '6'5 arranged in a bank, as 'shown in Figs.

I'1 and 2, along the rear side of the machine and lnature of a hammered surface. This is an irnportant feature in connection with handling cherry halves as vit `prevents cherry halves dropping troni the pick-'up pins, upon 'being stripped therefrom, from sticking to the surface of vthe hopper by the suction effect of their cupped portion. If the surface 6l were smooth, half cherries could readily stick to it and not be 'discharged 'Connected vto the lower end of the 'hoppers 65 are straight discharge spouts or delivery tubes -or chutes 'B which are connected to the hopper by a 'flexible or resilient sleeve 69, for instance of "rubber, held to the tubes by the wire tie rnem- -bers '76. Thus the delivery 'tubes are ilexible' in nature and it will be observed from Fig. 1 that `"these discharge or delivery tubes may be lgrouped Itogether in order tc deliver the cherry pieces from more than one transverse row of pickeup pins to a single delivery point, for example a container, held below 'the grouped discharge tubes.

The tubes rnay be held in grouped relationship -by tie backs or vvclasps rH (see Fig. il) which are slidably adjustable on a bar 12 held by screws 'E3 to the L-shaped brackets 6 As shown in Fig. 1, all but the delivery tube at the extreme right are grouped in lpairs, the fright hand group of transverse pick-up pins being rendered inoperative by latching the 'pins in Velevated lposition as seen in the case of the right hand pins in Figs. `l `and 3. It will be understood,

however, that more than two of these vtubes may be .grmipedtosether iatfonerpoint, and that vari-fons 'combinations may te obtained `:in order to deliver the same 'Or different counts of cherry pieces to succeeding containers moved with 1re'- spect to the discharge tubes.

The container feed mechanism is provided for continuously bringing containers into position with respect to the article directing virreans C fand controlling-the movement of one or more conftai'r'l'ls at apos'iti'on relative to the discharge tubes *68 beneath which 'they are held for an interval or `time 'surncient to .receive their charge of vvfruit and removing the containers after 'they v'have received Ya charge of .fruit pieces.

The controlled movement of the containers coordinated' with fthe article discharge mechanism so that one Aor la battery of containers, as the case may be, fare in position to receive fa charge of cherry pieces when the pick-up mechanisxn is discharging the saine.

Referring now 'more particularly to the l'is- 'closl'l'ie iIl-ihe'drawih's' which villustra-te the f'cjontain'er rdelivery and control mechanism, the oonta'iners are carried by ka continuously moving 'ineans lf in the forro of :a belt 1M `in the direction of the arrows Figs. l, 4, 5, and 6. The belt is 'continuously driven from adi-ive pulley, 'not shown, the upper ruin of the belt passing over an 'idler pulley 75, Fig. il, to 'a plate 'or apron Hi having vintegral supporting arms TTI (Figs. 1 t'o 3l. These arms are secured as by bolts T8 to brackets *le adjustabiy secured by set 'screws Bo to the posts 2 at each end of the machine.

f.ihe belt M passes, as shown iin Fig. 1, from the plate is over e `nntner pulley si from which it r'e'tllrils 't0 'the drive pulley by passing below the plate 16'. From fthe belt 14, the containers are transferred, 'as lshown 'in Fig. 1, 'over fa stationary 'plate 82 to `'ano'tlrer inoving 'belt 83 carried by pulleys 8f4 for 'further operation. The 'pulleys i115, $81 and 84 are iii-ed to -shafts 85 which are rotatably 'journale'd in 'the bearing brackets "F6, supported `byineans not shown. A catch plate 87 is positioned below the 'lower run of the 4*belt 14 to protect operators therefrom and "to 'provide 'a -spill *table for 'ff-ruit pieces. The catch plate 1S 'Supported by the brackets 89 to which it iS held as by riveting. The brackets 36S are -i-n tur-n secured to the container guide mechanism to be presently described.

In order to direct the containers to "their proper position below 'the discharge tubes G'S, a guide channel El 'is provided extending substantially centrally of the belt 74. The chan-'nel is yfr'nine'd by outer and inner guide rails, one Aof which is positioned :adjacent to each edge of the upper run of 'the belt FM. Each `guide rail consists as Ashown 2in Fig. '3 oi the upper guilde bar l8'9 and 'the lower :guide bar 9U, secured as by lwelding to fthe fend brackets .9i 'which v'are secured to the plate tsllpplirtlng arms 111 as by 'bolt '92.

The container guides are Vadjustable 'towardand away Yfrom each other to permit the guide A'channel to jaocoininvariate and Yteintralize different sized containers. For this purpose, slots 93, Fig. 2, are 'provided in the 'plate ysupports 11, with the 'slots of suflicient llength to accommodate an `adiust .ment yfor the various sized cans to be used with 'the niachin'e. To assist the operator in making rapid settings during a days frh when 'a chafe :is to 'loe made in the 'size A'of 4the containers to be rrootco'f the brackets 191. In addition, a table fof canfsizeslanu :settings .is providedat `some point iof the same character.

7 ori-the mechanism, for instance the tank 5,7where it may be readily observed by the operator, or referred to in m-aking changes.

The stop mechanism in the form of a container engaging means G is provided to retard movement of the containers past the discharge tubes l|58 and comprises, as shown in Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, a feed stop unit 94 to control movement of containers from the feed line into cherry receiving-position and a similar discharge stop unit 95 v`to control discharge of filled containers, located immediately behind the container feed channel. Each stop unit comprises, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a stop arm slide frame 96 which is secured to the under face of a supporting bracket 91 by bolt 98. The bracket is adjustably mounted upon the nearest post 2 by a set screw 99.

The slide frame 96 is of U-shape (see Fig. 3) and is located in inverted position so that the sides thereof point downwardly and provide bearings for slidably fitted parallel reciprocating rods and `|0|, which operate in these portions of the frame. Moreover, the frame is so located that the rods operate from front to rear of the machine. Furthermore, the rods carry a connecting block |02 which is fixed to the adjacent ends of these rods at the re-ar side of the machine. Fixed to each block |02 and projecting hori- Zontally and at right angles with respect to the rods |00 and |0| is a stop bar |03 which is adjustably slidable on the block and is locked therein by a set screw |04.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, a stop finger |05 is connected to the end of the stop bar of the feed stop unit 94, and at right angles thereto to project in a horizontal position, in the direction of the `container feed channel. A similar stop finger |06 is connected to the discharge stop unit 95 and is similarly positioned. It will be observed from Figs. 4 to 6 that the stop fingers are located between the two stop units but it will be understood that this positioning is optional and that the stop fingers may be located on the same or different sides of the stop units as desired.

The stop fingers and |06 are reciprocated in and out of the container channel through the slide rods previously mentioned and the slide mechanism is driven through a laterally projecting pin |01 which is fixed to the lower slide rod l0! between the bearings of the frame 96. The pin terminates in a collar portion and is Aheld to the slide rod by the set screw |08, as

vshown in Fig. 4.

Motion is imparted to each slide mechanism by control mechanism G including levers |09 (Figs. l and 3) each having its fulcrum in a bracket l0,

secured by bolts to the base l. The levers are pivotally mounted in the brackets ||0 by means of pins H2 which are rigidly secured in the levers. The upper ends of the levers are fork-shaped (see Fig. 3) and fit over the operating pins |01 of the slide mechanism. The levers |09 are rocked by cams ||3 located on each side of the machine, through cam rollers ||4 which engage an endless camway I|5 formed in .the cams ||3, and are secured to the levers substantially midway their length by studs I6. The cams rare fixed to the main drive shaft 2| and rotate therewith.

As previously indicated, the two stop units are However, the cam of one isset slightly ahead of the other in order that the finger |05 (Fig, 4) moves into the .container chan- 'nel to stop motion of containers moving in the feed line. In the meantime the stop finger |06 is movedout of the container channel and permits any containers that were previously held between the stops to pass by. After the containers have passed out lof the space between the two stop fingers, stop finger |06 (Fig. 5) again moves into the container channel. When this occurs, stop finger |05 is moved out of the channel and containers X, as shown in Fig. 5, are permitted to move past it up to the stop finger |06. When the containers have come to rest, stop nger |05 is again moved into the container channel and the positioning of the stops and containers is then as shown in Fig. 6, which shows a bank of containers X held between the two stop fingers and stop finger |05 acting to hold back containers Y of the feed line. When the containers X are ready for discharge, stop finger |05 is again moved out of position to permit the containers X between the stop fingers to move on to thedischarge position.

It will be observed from Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, that the stop fingers |05 and |06 of the stop units 94 and 95, respectively, are laterally adjustable by moving the stop finger bars |03 in the blocks |02. In this manner the distance between the stop fingers |05 and |06 may be adjusted to accommodate any predetermined number of cans within the range of adjustment. Thus for example, as shown in Fig. 6, the stop fingers are set to receive a bank of five containers. However, by moving the stop finger bars |03 laterally the number of containers between the stop fingers can manifestly be increased, for example, to nine. lt is merely necessary to provide sufficient length to the stop finger bars to set the range to anything from one container upward. A further feature of the stop linger mechanism is the ease y with which the stop mechanism may be disconnected from the container feed line in case of the need. It is merely necessary to loosen the set screw |04 holding the stop finger bars and ip the stop fingers over and out of the container feed channel and the containers may then be continuously fed by the belt past the machine. This feature is quite helpful where the containers are being fed past a series of machines.

Operation- In the foregoing description of the construction of the container feeding mechanism the operation of the various iparts thereof has been explained. For a more complete understanding a rsum of the entire cycle of operation of the mechanism will now lbe given setting forth the function of the various units in proper sequence and timed relation.

Assuming a mass of fruit pieces has been placed in the bin A together with a body of liquid brought to the desired level and that power is now imparted to the belt 14 of the container moving means and the motor 29 which through gears 30 and 3| rotate the drive shaft 2| and the cams 26, 49 and H3 carried thereby. Also assuming that the mechanism is in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 the displacement tubes 9 on carrying plate 2 through cam 26, cam rods |1 and lift rods i!! descend and the pressure created by the xed p-istons 32 escapes through the perforated seats I thus stirring up and agitating the fruit pieces in the liquid body within the bin A to buoyantly suspend the fruit pieces in the liquid.

As the cam 26 is raised the displacement tubes hoppers 65.

9 are elevated, thus creating a suction at the perforated seats to attract fruit pieces onto the seats for elevation thereby. The pin carrying racks 38 are now in position above the bin A and the lfruit pieces elevated by the tubes 9 are imIpaled upon the barbed ends of the pins 39 by impact (see Fig. 3).

As the displacement tubes again descend for reception of another charge of fruit pieces, the overhead crane 34 is moved to the right by rocker arms 4| through the crane operating cams 49, the stripper bars 54 descending successively as the rollers 58 ride down the sloped portions 64 of the cam tracks 59 thus stripping the fruit pieces from the barbed pins into the respective As shown in Fig. 1 the charges from two transverse rows of pins are directed to a single point of use or delivery above the container ifeed mechanism, it being understood that the charges may be varied in quantity by rearrangement of the discharge spouts 68.

Containers are being fed from a feed line in a continuous stream along the guide channel E by the continuously moving means F to pass the containers beneath the discharge ends of the grouped discharge spouts. The cams I |3 on drive shaft 2| through rollers ||4 rock the levers |09 thus synchronizing the container engaging means G with the operation of the article discharging means B.

While the tubes 9 are elevated and the overhead crane 34 is returned to fruit impaling position, the discharge stolp finger |06 of the container feed mechanism is withdrawn from the guide channel to permit any containers (X) held thereby to pass on as shown in Fig. 4, subsequent containers (Y) approaching position underthe discharge spout along the feed line being meanwhile held up by the stop finger |05.

When a sufficient time has elapsed for any containers Ibetween the two stops to clear the discharge stop finger |06, it again starts moving in, as in Fig. 5, and as this occurs the stop finger |05 moves out, as also shown in this figure, and permits a new supply of containers to move into position and approach the stop |06. Such movement is designated by the containers marked X in Fig. 5. By the time the leading container X reaches the stop finger |06, stop finger |05 begins to move in to hold the containers marked X between the two stop fingers.

The containers X are positioned as shown in Fig. 6 when the charges of fruit are stripped from the barbed rpins and the fruit pieces are directed by the discharge spouts into the respective containers.

When the pins have all discharged their respective cherry pieces the overhead crane again returns to the pick-up position above the displacement tubes 9 and the discharge stop |06 again functions to release the containers that have just been filled. This condition is depicted in Fig. 5 where the containers X are shown moving -beyond the discharge stop |06. While this occurs the remaining containers in the feed line are held back by the stop |05. When the cans X have cleared the stop |06 the stop |05 functions as described previously to [permit a new bank of containers to move into position to receive their charges of [fruit by the `:foregoing operations. V l,

From a. consideration of the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a novel apparatus for feeding containers and for controlling the movement of the containers incident to the reception of charges of articles thereby.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my invention it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains that various modifications, changes and substitutions may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A container feed mechanism comprising a container guide channel having a continuously moving surface for moving containers, a first container stop, a second container stop spaced from said first stop, means for adjusting the distance between said stops to accommodate a predetermined number of containers for receiving a charge of material, means for reciprocating said stops in and out of said channel, means for controlling reciprocation of said stops for positioning both stops in said channel while containers are receiving charges of material, for moving said first stop out of said-channel when containers have received their charges, for moving said second stop out of said channel when the charged containers have substantially cleared said first stop and for again moving said first stop into said channel before the leading container of the subsequent containers for receiving charges of material has reached said first stop.

2. A container feed mechanism comprising a. container guide channel having a continuously moving surface for moving containers, a first container stop, a second container stop spaced from said first stop, means for adjusting the distance between said stops to accommodate a predetermined number of containers for receiving a charge of material, means for effecting movement of said stops into and out of said channel and for positioning both stops in said channel while the containers therebetween are receiving a charge of material, for moving said first stop out of said channel after said containers have received their charges of material, for moving said second stop out of said channel when the charged containers have substantially cleared said first stop, and for again moving said first stop into said channel before the leading container of the subsequent containers for receiving charges of material has reached said first stop.

BURTON C. COONS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 726,565 Peters Apr. 28, 1903 862,923 Linsley Aug. 13, 1907 1,137,227 Martin Apr. 27, 1915 1,751,487 McIntyre Mar. 25, 1930 1,752,540 Olson Apr. 1, 1930 1,845,051 Latham Feb. 16, 1932 1,887,751 Colver Nov. 15, 1932 2,050,547 Thayer Aug. 11, 1936 2,286,523 Whitehead June 16, 1942 2,341,705 Fedorchak et al. Feb. 15, 1944 

